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CHAPTER 2
He could feel Jack's hand on his shoulder, a heavy weight that pinned him to the almost painfully rough sofa. He felt strong, warm arms around him again and he clutched tightly to his lover, terrified. He could here the constant, steady thump-thump of Jack's heart again and the rushing of air in and out of his lungs. He tried to focus on those sounds and only them, trying to block everything else out.
"Ianto, talk to me, what's wrong?" Jack's voice was low and quiet – a blessing. Ianto shuddered in his arms.
"It's too loud and everything hurts… it's wrong, Jack, something's gone wrong." Ianto's voice shook as he spoke at what he thought was normal volume. Jack only just managed to hear the whispers, but immediately moved one of his hands to press over Ianto's ear, pulling his head firmly against his chest to block out all the sounds around them. Ianto could concentrate solely on his lover's heartbeat and breathing again.
Ianto sighed in relief, letting Jack shift him from the sofa and into his lap, his skin and the cloth of his t-shirt more comfortable to be against than the scratchy weave of the furniture. Jack's mind raced, trying to find explanations for his lover's obvious suffering. He'd said things were too loud, that everything hurt… but, what did that mean?
It was then that Jack noticed the scratch on Ianto's neck. Through the clear film over it, he could see the skin was still a little red and inflamed. Surely, after a night's sleep it should've been getting better. He frowned and eased his hand gently off Ianto's ear.
"Ianto, does your neck hurt?" He kept his voice soft and felt Ianto shake his head. "Is there anything else that's not right apart from the feel of things and sound?"
He nodded his head, his voice a whisper as he spoke, "My eyes… the light hurts… and you smelt too good."
Jack smiled gently at the last part and closed his hand back over Ianto's ear, holding him firmly. His senses seemed to be in overdrive… Only taste hadn't been tested, but Jack was willing to bet a large amount of money that the sense would've been affected as well – and he wasn't a gambling kind of guy.
He knew that the first port of call was to make Ianto as comfortable as possible. Reluctantly, he lifted Ianto back onto the sofa and stood up, ignoring the come drying onto his clothes as he tugged them back into place. He moved to Tosh's desk and rummaged through until he found the spare earpiece and the new ear defenders she'd been working on. They were more discreet than the industrial earmuffs Jack used down in the firing range.
He slotted the earpiece into one of the ear defenders – Tosh had thought ahead far enough to design a panel that could be removed to contain the comm. device. He dialled the volume on the earpiece right down to its minimum and moved back to Ianto, slotting them over his ears, taking exceptional care so that he didn't damage or hurt the younger man's ears. He looked so vulnerable as he sat there, curled up awkwardly, hands pressed over his ears and his eyes screwed closed.
As soon as the defenders fell into place, the edges seemed to mould round Ianto's head, sealing out all other sound. Ianto instantly felt at ease. The only thing he could hear now was the faint throbbing of his own heart. The sounds from outside were still audible, but no where near as loud. He ran his fingers experimentally over the defenders, feeling the smooth curve of the surfaces. He thought, had he not been feeling like he was about to be ripped apart, cell by cell, that he probably looked either comical or terrifying. He suppressed the though of cybermen and the ear devices that had taken control of two of his friends on the Rift floor.
"Are the ears okay?" Jack's voice was quiet, sounding a little tinny through the comm. device. He wondered whether the degradation of sound had always been that bad. Ianto had the feeling that he would've been able to hear Jack perfectly fine without the device in his ear, but he knew Jack was covering all bases, should he have to rush off at a moment's notice.
"Yeah, they feel better." He pressed his hands over his eyes gently, blocking the light from them as he blinked them hard a few times. His forehead was aching a little from crushing his eyelids together. "My clothes are itchy, Jack."
"Okay… do you have any pyjamas downstairs?" Ianto could hear the whisperings of Jack's heartbeat near him and he nodded his head carefully. He felt Jack fingers run across his arm, surprised at how light the touch was after everything else he'd felt that morning. The sofa was like sandpaper, hard and unyielding and it made his bones ache and his skin sore. "Hang in there, I'm going to go change the sheets and get you changed and settled down there."
Ianto nodded again and heard the heartbeat and footsteps head away from him. Even through the ear defenders, he could hear Jack's movements in the bunker, though they were quiet and unobtrusive. He found it strangely comforting to be able to hear what was happening as he was unable to open his eyes and look for himself.
He heard Jack opening a drawer and the soft whisper of material gliding over itself as he pulled out new bed sheets. He heard a gentle melody drifting through his ears – softer and more soulful than he'd ever heard it before, and he'd heard Jack humming more often than the older man knew. He listened as the covers were changed and the bed was sorted, a few things moved from the bedside table to the desk in the corner, wires wrapped around appliances and stacked to one side. The final noise he heard was of what he could only assume was Jack getting changed and cleaning himself off - trousers and a t-shirt if he was listening correctly.
Then he heard footsteps on the ladder again and the tension that he hadn't realised had crept into his shoulders faded a little. The footsteps were back and he could once more hear the gentle, comforting thud of Jack's heart. He felt hands on his shoulders, guiding him to his feet and Ianto let himself be taken away.
They moved slowly back into Jack's office and to the manhole cover. Jack whispered for him to stay still and left him standing there for a moment as he closed the door and shut the blinds, trying to keep at much light out as possible.
Ianto eased his palms from his eyes and blinked them open tentatively. The lights were stronger than he'd expected, as if the room was lit normally, and he could see every crease and notch in his surroundings. Jack stood near him, watching him carefully and Ianto looked at him – really looked at him – for what felt like the first time.
His face suddenly bore so much more of his age than previously and his eyes seemed to swim, bluer than ever. There were wrinkles round his eyes and each hair on his head stood out sharply, the bed head he was sporting only being accentuated. He was worrying at his lip, a frown creasing his forehead in concern and Ianto managed to smile a little, leaning in to kiss him as hard as he dared – which wasn't hard at all.
He felt his skin spark at the feel of Jack's lips and pulled back, knowing it wasn't safe to carry on. He nodded slowly and the tension in Jack's face eased slightly as he guided him down to the bunker. He gently helped Ianto out of his t-shirt and boxers, tossing them into the corner and holding out the soft, flannel trousers and t-shirt that Ianto had always found so comfortable in the past.
Gratefully, the younger man pulled them on, letting Jack clean his skin gently with a warm flannel before he settled the material into place. Then Jack nudged him towards the bed and settled him in between the soft, silk sheets. He'd had them for a while in the seventies, when he'd thought they were the height of fashion. He didn't let people know that really, he only had them because the were immensely soft on the skin – and there was nothing better than a comfortable bed after a horrific day in Torchwood.
Jack couldn't help the smile that tugged at his mouth as Ianto twisted to face him and he heard him sigh gently. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his temple.
"Thank you, Jack… this is so much better." Ianto's voice was soft and relaxed, his eyes closed and his face relieved of it's tension. Jack just wanted to wrap him in his arms and take away all the pain and discomfort.
"Just get some rest. I'll close the manhole cover and keep the lights down in the office, just in case. I'll call Owen in and see if he can't work out what's happened. We'll make you better, I promise." Ianto nodded and blinked his eyes open to look at Jack, a slight anxiety in them again.
"Do I need to keep these on?" He gestured to his ears and Jack suddenly remembered some of the bodies from Canary Wharf. He thought for a moment before shaking his head and pressing the buttons to release the seals on each ear. He carefully slid them from his lover's ears and watched the final ounce of tension leave him. He put the comm. device onto 'speakerphone' and left it on the bedside table.
He was just about to stand up to leave and seal Ianto down in the bunker when he felt a hand on his chest, Ianto's palm sliding under his t-shirt to rest over his heart. He stayed still, unable to stop the slight quickening of his pulse. He saw Ianto grin and laugh gently before he pulled his hand away and curled further down into the soft bed clothes.
Jack felt a throb of affection for the young man and forced himself to climb up the ladder and close the hatch as quietly as possible. Ianto heard the metal being put into place and tried not to wince at the grating sound as Jack shifted it a little more precisely. He sighed again as he heard Jack walk across the room and sit down in his seat, the old chair creaking in several different pitches. Ianto had only ever heard the softest whisper of protest from the chair and it seemed odd to hear it so loud and clearly.
He buried his head further into the soft pillow and listened to Jack murmuring over the phone to Owen, even hearing some of Owen's replies. He didn't sound happy at all – neither of them did. They were brusk and hurried and when Jack finished the call and closed his phone, Ianto hugged the duvet closer to him.
*
Jack tried sitting in his office for a while, but the urge to tap his fingers or pen on the desk were almost overwhelming. He knew he couldn't disturb Ianto again, but the frustration was making him distracted. His only option was to get up and leave the office, to go for a walk and maybe check on the weevils or Myfanwy.
His first port of call, however, was to get a cup of tea. He was immensely surprised to find, as he turned around a few minutes later with his mug in his hand, Owen walking through the door, the siren blaring and making him wince at the thought of what Ianto must've heard.
He quickly moved to Tosh's workstations, ignoring Owen's called questions, and turned the siren to mute for the time being. There would be at least one more activation when the two women came into work and he doubted that he and Owen would be able to work out what was wrong by then.
"Harkness!" He whipped round as Owen snapped his name out, glaring at him. Jack returned the look with equal measure before sighing.
"Look, I don't know what happened… He was fine last night, just tired." Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes hard. Owen dumped his bag and shrugged off his jacket, turning on his computer.
"Did he say anything that might have indicated a change?" Owen glanced over his shoulder, following Jack's lead and speaking softer than usual.
"He said my heart was beating really loudly last night… but we were just lying together, nothing more than that." He fidgeted a little and Owen just knew that there was more to the story. He swallowed the sarcastic retort as he logged into the Torchwood systems and gestured for Jack to carry on. "This morning… we, you know… but as soon as it was over he freaked out, curled up saying everything was too loud, that I smelt different and the lights were too bright."
"Sight, hearing and smell…" Owen mused, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and Jack's insatiable sex drive.
"I think his skin was hypersensitive too… he said his skin was hurting. I'd wager that his taste was off too, but he's not eaten or drunk anything this morning." Jack shrugged and moved over to Owen's computer as he began to pull up the case file for the alien from the day before. Owen raised an eyebrow at him but bit back the question about how they'd managed to have sex without using their mouths. He really didn't need to know that.
"The only thing I can think of is that something was passed on through the scratch… maybe into the bloodstream? It would explain why the effects suddenly hit him after you shagged each other. Elevated heart rate and breathing, blood pumping faster… It may be that it was all that was needed to send whatever it was completely through him." Owen concentrated on the computer screen, looking at the meagre data he had. He hadn't yet completed the autopsy of the body as it had been late when they'd finished the job. They'd brought the body up to the lab and tucked it into temporary storage before he'd inspected the scratch on Ianto's neck. "How's the cut this morning? It should be scabbed over by now."
"It looked red… almost like the beginnings of an infection, but I didn't want to do anything to it before you came in." Jack glanced at Owen, who nodded his approval.
"Good move." Owen brought up Ianto's medical file and scanned over it. he knew all the histories of everyone on the team, but the last time he'd checked was a few months ago. He wanted to see whether anything had happened between then and now. He knew that they were all reluctant to use Owen as their primary care physician – the girls especially – but he'd long ago got Tosh to write him a programme that automatically linked the NHS files for employees to the Torchwood data. "Okay, I'm going to need to do a full body scan and lab work up. I'll need a couple of vials of blood to analyse and compare for any toxins… But I need to do the autopsy first."
Jack nodded, grimacing at the thought of how badly the pain of a blood draw would be intensified for his lover. Owen was a good Doctor – better than good – and had, for his own sake as much as his patients, perfected his needle technique. Whilst he was efficient and almost painless when placing IV s and drawing blood, there would still be pain and discomfort, even if only minimal – and that could be horrific for Ianto.
Still, there was nothing else that could be done and if it was the only way to heal Ianto, Jack would let Owen do it.
